You probably might have guessed by now that I am a vegetarian. Before I go any further, I just want to clarify one thing because I get this all the time (eyes rolling!). I am only a vegetarian, not a vegan. A Vegan eats neither the meat nor dairy while vegetarians do eat dairy, just not the meat, although, I sneak in eggs in my diet much to the chagrin of my fellow vegetarians.

Couple of weeks ago, I had to attend a business dinner at a steakhouse, not just any steakhouse but a Brazilian steakhouse, Fogo de Chao.

One of my colleagues who had been to this restaurant before, gave me a heads up saying that they don’t just serve steak but they carry it around on skewers and they go around continuously bringing 15 different kinds of meats or until you are done and flip a sign card at your table to show red. My colleague is not a vegetarian but she warned that the sight is a bit overwhelming and that the restaurant reeks of meat.

Hmm! Trepidation and anxiety almost set in but at the same time I consoled myself with the thought that an upscale restaurant in Scottsdale Arizona, cannot smell like a fish market. You don’t want to ruin your favorite Prada jacket!

I am not a faint-hearted vegetarian and I love to try the different cuisines of the world as long as the dishes have no meat in them. It may be difficult to fathom for some but I really have discovered some great tasting food wherever I have gone. In fact, I could easily host a vegetarian food sojourn on Travel Channel.

Another fact is I am married to a wonderful man who loves to eat meat. But this was never a moot point as long as I don’t have to eat it or cook it. No, wait, sorry, sometimes it is when I get a whiff of seafood.

Okay, so I arrived at Fogo de Chao. I did get a faint barbecue smoke smell but it was not intense and suffocating. In fact, you don’t even realize it after a while. And, dinner was awesome and enough for me! They have a huge salad spread with not just greens and vegetables but also different kinds of cheese including fresh mozzarella, polenta, breads and garlic mashed potato. I know it’s not a lot of variety but I had room to eat dessert for once without feeling full. Their Crème Brule is to die for and so also their molten chocolate cake.

So, if you are a vegetarian and are fine with the sights and smells of meat, try out the steakhouses too. You never know the treat that might await you!